Robberies and Thefts

News about Robberies and Thefts, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times.

Chronology of Coverage

Mar. 27, 2015

Police arrest two suspects in connection with rape of elderly nun during robbery of convent school in India. MORE

Mar. 16, 2015

Detroit's tough crackdown on scrap metal scavenging is eliminating means of subsistence for many of city's most impoverished residents who sell metal for quick cash; decades of scavenging has left tens of thousands of buildings irreparably damaged, and has been major cause of blight in several neighborhoods; residents, lawmakers and police have all joined effort to shut down underground trade (Series: Ruin and Renewal). MORE

Mar. 15, 2015

Elderly nun is raped during robbery of convent school in West Bengal, India; thieves made off with about $9,000 in cash and valuables. MORE

Mar. 14, 2015

Michael Wilson Crime Scene column revisits case of James Kiernan and Jordan Martinez, onetime auxiliary police officers accused of committing a strong-arm robbery in East Harlem; notes that widening investigation shows the men may have been involved in several other robberies. MORE

Mar. 12, 2015

More than a dozen heavily armed thieves attack two armored vans carrying jewels on highway connecting Paris and Lyon in France, stealing gems valued at about $9.7 million. MORE

Mar. 10, 2015

Vatican gives few answers regarding mysterious offer by unknown man to sell back documents written by Michelangelo that were stolen from archive in St Peter’s Basilica in 1997. MORE

Mar. 8, 2015

Tip column offers tips from security consultants about how drive evasively when trying to escape a kidnapping or robbery. MORE

Mar. 7, 2015

Police in California are investigating theft of cruffin recipe, signature croissant-muffin hybrid, along with 230 other recipes, from Mr Holmes Bakehouse in San Francisco. MORE

Mar. 7, 2015

Michael Wilson Crime Scene column recounts downfall of James Kiernan, New York City auxiliary police officer who, along with former Auxiliary Officer Jordan Martinez, was arrested on charges of beating and robbing a deliveryman in Spanish Harlem. MORE

Mar. 6, 2015

Water faucets are stolen from new headquarters of Germany's foreign intelligence service in Berlin, causing leaks and water damage. MORE

Mar. 6, 2015

American amputee sprinter Ranjit Steiner is sidelined from training for Paralympic Games after his prosthetic leg is stolen. MORE

Mar. 1, 2015

Artworks stolen from Boston's Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in 1990, including Rembrandt painting Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee, are still missing as 25th anniversary of robbery approaches; FBI investigators still hope to recover works, though most of their suspects are already dead. MORE

Feb. 28, 2015

French court determines that convicted drug trafficker Daoudi Yahiaoui was mastermind behind major jewel heists in 2007 and 2008 and sentences him to 15 years in prison; other seven defendants are sentenced to terms of nine months to 15 years. MORE

Feb. 28, 2015

Michael Wilson Crime Scene column recounts story of unidentified family in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, whose evacuated apartment was robbed while firefighters were battling flames in their building. MORE

Feb. 27, 2015

Picasso painting stolen from Centre George Pompidou in Paris some time between 1998 and 2001 is discovered in FedEx shipment from Belgium to Newark and will be returned to France. MORE

Feb. 23, 2015

Animal rights activist Amber Canavan faces felony charges including burglary for breaking into Hudson Valley Foie Gras in 2011, documenting what she saw as animal abuse, and allegedly stealing two ducks; video of farm in Ferndale, NY, was posted online, and included footage that has prompted Sullivan County district attorney James R Farrell to bring charges four years later. MORE

Feb. 17, 2015

Mouloud Djennad, former guard at Harry Winston jewelry store in Paris, admits to being 'inside man' in brazen diamond heists in 2007 and 2008; Djennad, who is on trial with eight other men, contends that he was stupid, impressionable and lost in his life, factors that made him susceptible to pressure from group led by convicted drug-dealer Daoudi Yahiaoui. MORE

Jan. 27, 2015

While worth only about $10,000, the gold nuggets have sentimental value to the large bank, which was founded during the gold rush of the 19th century. MORE

Jan. 22, 2015

Barcelona Journal; city of Barcelona has accused daughters of wealthy industrialist Julio Munoz Ramonet of criminal theft and fraud in disappearance of important artworks from walls of mansion that he bequeathed to city at his death in 1991; Ramonet's daughters have denied allegations, saying collections removed from house had been given to them by benefactors other than their father and that did not belong to him. MORE

Jan. 8, 2015

Jason Polanco and Joshua Kemp are arraigned on charges of shooting of New York City Police Officers Aliro Pellerano and Andrew Dossi during robbery at bodega in Bronx. MORE

Jan. 7, 2015

Investigators say New York City Police Officers Andrew Dossi and Aliro Pellerano, who were shot during Bronx robbery, were not targeted by armed robbery suspects Jason Polanco and Joshua Kemp; both Polanco and Kemp are in police custody. MORE

Jan. 6, 2015

Two New York City plainclothes police officers are shot and wounded in Bronx while investigating an armed robbery; injuries are not life threatening; investigators are searching for two suspects. MORE

Jan. 5, 2015

Jury selection will begin for trial of Donald Tollefson, former sportscaster charged with stealing over $300,000 by selling tickets to fake sports-themed trips. MORE

Dec. 25, 2014

Nearly $2 million in Hong Kong 500 dollar notes spill out of security van in Hong Kong on Christmas Eve, offering windfall to onlookers; police urge bystanders who picked up money to return it. MORE

Dec. 16, 2014

New Jersey prosecutors charge Chaka Castro, Juan Olaya, Octavius Scott, and Johnisha Williams in series of home invasions that focused on Indian-American community in Middlesex County; suspects, who are all from Houston and were caught in Texas, are also believed to have struck homes in Georgia, Michigan, New York and Texas. MORE

Dec. 3, 2014

Several home invasions against Indian-American families have taken place in Middlesex County, NJ; victims were tied and held at gunpoint while houses were ransacked; all but one of robberies happened during or just after Hindu festival of Diwali, when families often have gold jewelry on hand; officials have not publicly linked incidents, but many residents see pattern and worry that home invasion spree may not be over. MORE

Nov. 27, 2014

Eleven churches in southwestern Brooklyn have been burglarized over two months, with thieves taking computers, cameras and money but leaving valuable religious items; police say they believe same person or persons is behind break-in. MORE

Nov. 27, 2014

Paul Aronson, 84-year-old Manhattan resident, is tied up and robbed in his apartment by Shaina and Shalaine Foster, 17-year old twins he met through dating website Seeking Arrangement.com; sisters plead not guilty to charges of kidnapping, burglary, larceny and related crimes. MORE

Nov. 26, 2014

Rafael Lopez pleads guilty for covering up and failing to report burglary in which he took part; is last of five men to plead guilty in 2010 prescription drug theft at Eli Lilly warehouse in Enfield, Conn. MORE

Nov. 19, 2014

Uganda is investigating theft of almost 3,000 pounds of ivory from the vaults of its state-run Uganda Wildlife Authority; five staff members are suspended. MORE

Nov. 15, 2014

Residents of normally peaceful neighborhood of Ditmas Park, Brooklyn, are fearful after series of armed robberies hit local businesses; robbers are not only taking cash from registers, but patrons' belongings as well; police say five robberies, and possibly a sixth, have fit a pattern so far. MORE

Nov. 12, 2014

Armed robber posing as delivery man enters jewelry store Watch Standard in Manhattan's diamond district; hits owner in head with handgun before taking bag of jewelry and fleeing with accomplice; police search building and surrounding block but men are not found. MORE

Nov. 4, 2014

Oct. 21, 2014

Robbery of Abdul Sattar Edhi in Karachi, Pakistan, underscores fact that almost no one is off limits to city's criminals; Edhi is 86-year-old philanthropist whose name has become synonymous with humanitarian causes in Pakistan. MORE

Oct. 16, 2014

Brooklyn man Leonard Phillips is shot and killed after confronting armed intruders during home invasion in Ditmas Park neighborhood; suspects have not yet been identified. MORE

Oct. 1, 2014

Josue Alicea is arrested and charged with burglary at Wingate by Wyndham Hotel in Midtown Manhattan after he was chased and tackled by Swedish hotel guest and intended victim Viktor Lofgren. MORE

Sep. 21, 2014

Growing number of high-spending Chinese tourists in Paris are falling victim to their unrealistic expectations of the city, while also being victimized by thieves who target them because they are easily identifiable as Asian; Chinese visitors typically do not speak French and carry large amounts of cash to avoid paying multiple currency exchange fees. MORE

Sep. 20, 2014

Michael Wilson Crime Scene column; 17 mountain bikes are stolen from Brooklyn Bike Park in Williamsburg on same night group gathered for full moon meditation; noise from group's chanting may have provided cover for bicycle thieves. MORE

Sep. 18, 2014

New York City Police Department agrees to oversight and restrictions on decade-old decoy operation known as Lucky Bag; operation is effort to tempt thieves and make arrests, but many say it has trapped innocent passers-by who insist they are picking up found items in hopes of returning them to rightful owners. MORE

Sep. 16, 2014

Afghan appeals court confirms death sentences against five of seven defendants in notorious robbery and rape case, despite their claims that their confessions were extracted through torture. MORE

Sep. 4, 2014

Missouri man Brandon Howell is charged with killing three people and critically wounding two others during an attempt to steal a car in southern Kansas City. MORE

Aug. 31, 2014

Jillian Dunham Lives essay describes a night when she opened her front door to two strangers who had been about to break in; says she asked them if they were alright, which made them back away and drive off; notes ever since she has ruminated on how dangerous an action that was. MORE

Aug. 29, 2014

Pacific Gas and Electric Company reports Silicon Valley power substation near San Jose, Calif, that was attacked by a sniper in April 2013 is hit by thieves; unknown number of intruders cut through a fence and made off with power tools, a pipe bender and ground compactors; thieves did not appear to try to damage operating equipment. MORE

Aug. 28, 2014

Thieves have struck two farms in Bristol and Wethersfield, CT, taking more than $1,200 worth of corn and leaving farmers to debate ways to better safeguard their crops; two suspects have been charged for stealing corn from Anderson Farms in Wethersfield. MORE

Aug. 28, 2014

James Meyer, man who worked for nearly 30 years as studio assistant to artist Jasper Johns pleads guilty in Manhattan federal court to a charge of unlawfully transporting artworks stolen from his employer. MORE

Aug. 27, 2014

Bill signed by California Gov Jerry Brown will require that all smartphones sold in state after July 2015 include so-called kill switch, which lets owner remotely deactivate phone after it has been stolen; devices appear to have been factor in decline in thefts. MORE

Aug. 25, 2014

The law requires smartphones sold in California to include antitheft technology, a feature that lawmakers hope will lead to a cool down in phone theft, now the hottest urban crime. MORE

Aug. 20, 2014

French news media reports that anonymous prince who was robbed at gunpoint in Paris was Prince Abdul Aziz, youngest and reportedly favorite son of the late King Fahd of Saudi Arabia; gunmen are said to have made off with some $335,000 in cash and sensitive documents whose existence has been denied by the Saudi Embassy. MORE

The police arrested two suspects on Thursday in the rape of an elderly nun in a Catholic missionary school this month, a crime that further fueled the intense national debate about the problem of sexual violence.

March 16, 2015, Monday

Men armed with knives broke into the Convent of Jesus and Mary in Ranaghat and stole about $9,000 in cash and valuables, a police official said. One of them raped the nun, the Catholic archbishop of Kolkata said.